The Walking Dead Vignettes
by MoonlightMistress83
Summary: I've had a story rolling around in my head featuring Daryl & an original character of mine. This entry contains vignettes of that story that I hope to combine into one larger story. The OC is Caroline Sparks, a former combat medic who meets the group in Atlanta when they return to rescue Merle Dixon, who was handcuffed to the top of a building. Want the complete story?
1. The Shooting Range

_**This is my first attempt at "The Walking Dead" fanfiction. Also, I'm not an experience writer, so please be kind. **_

_**I want to expand these short vignettes into a full story, so let me know if you'd like that. **_

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**The Shooting Range  
**

The "shooting range" was only 2 miles out from the farm, so Daryl decided to walk. He heard the gun shots from half a mile away and quickened his pace.

As he emerged from the brush into the open field he could see Caroline standing about one hundred yards away from the targets. She dropped the empty clip from the 9mm she was currently using and slammed a new one home into the butt of the gun in a matter of seconds. She then steadied her stance and began knocking the metal cans from the fallen log one by one.

Not wanting to be mistaken for a walker (again), he cleared his throat and said, "You already know you're a good shot...just wasting ammo."

She didn't even turn around when she replied, "What do you want, Dixon?" and fired off 3 more rounds before giving him a chance to answer.

"Rick saw you leaving the farm and figured you'd be here."

She gave him a cursory glance before continuing her assault on the targets. When she finished she shoved the gun into her back pocket and headed towards the car parked near the dirt road.

"You were right", he called, jogging toward her to catch up.

She stopped for a split second before turning and walking back toward him at an angry pace.

"I told you not go out there alone! Why the hell can't you listen to anyone? Why couldn't you have listened to _me_, just that once?"

The memory of hearing the rifle shot and seeing him fall like a sack of potatoes flashed through her mind as she came to a stop in front of him.

"I'm alive, ain't I?" he shouted back at her, his temper flaming.

"Fuck you!" she screamed as she turned to the car once more.

He guessed that was better than the "fuck off" he got from her when he tried to talk to her at the farm earlier today.

When she reached the car, she hesitated with her hand on driver's door handle, waiting for Daryl to catch up. He had a slight limp and was clutching at his side.

"And, you walked all the way here…real smart", she said, rolling her eyes.

"Look, it ain't gonna happen again. I learned my lesson."

Caroline figured that was the closest thing to an apology she was going to get from Daryl Dixon. She'd take it.

"Just get in the damn car", she said while opening the driver's side door as he came to stand beside her. The weight of the cross bow never seemed so heavy before.

He looked at her face and saw the sympathy in her eyes.

"So, we're good?" he asked while shielding his eyes from the sunset behind her.

"Yeah, we're good."

She held out her right hand and he slapped it before grabbing the end of her fingers and giving her arm a playful shake. She smirked at him and got into car.

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_Thanks for reading!_

_**~MLM**_


	2. Truth or Dare

Ok, so I think I need to give a bit of back story on what's going on.

Caroline is a former combat medic who met the group in Atlanta when they went back to rescue Merle. Caroline found Merle after he severed his own hand with a saw trying to escape. She helps him cauterize the wound and clears the path of walkers so that they can escape. Eventually Merle slips away from her while she's killing walkers and she doesn't seem him again. When the group finds her, she's actually looking for Merle as well because she's sure he will die alone. She decides to join the group after finding out that Daryl is Merle's brother. They all want her to stay with them because of her medical and combat training.

Over the next few months, Daryl and Caroline become close because she's not like the other women at camp. She's not emotional in the face of danger and she can take care of herself along with the others. Caroline is the only person Daryl actually trusts and interacts with of his own free will.

I have several more scenes that I'm going to plan out before putting the story together. This is how I've always written because scenes come to me here and there when I have an idea for a story and I don't want to forget the fine details, so I write them first and build the story around them. It's not to say that these scenes won't be altered down line, either, as the story progresses. This is just they are now, in my head.

So…on to the next scene.

Who doesn't like a little drunken game of truth or dare!?

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_Caroline is a bit of a bad ass with a temper that still flairs up from time to time. But, under the influence of alcohol she's emotional wreck that giggles a lot (which is why she doesn't drink often)._

**TRUTH OR DARE**

To say that yesterday had been rough was an understatement. Being in the military, deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq for 5 years, still didn't desensitize Caroline when it came seeing the death of another human being.

"_I hear Nebraska's nice" Rick answered. _

"_Nebraska…this guy" Dave laughed before making a move for his gun lying on the bar. _

_Rick grabbed his pistol from its holster, shot Dave in the head and then turned and shot Tony in the chest in a two second window that felt like hours. _

But, in the words of Merle Dixon (when she found him after he'd severed his own hand); "Sometimes ya gotta do, whatcha gotta do, sugar". And that's exactly what she told Rick once they returned to the farm, minus the "sugar" part.

Now, the next day, the boy they had rescued (against her advice) was recovering from surgery in the barn and the rest of the group was trying to decide his ultimate fate.

That evening Caroline was sitting in her tent emptying the contents of a back pack that she took with her to the bar. Her flap was open, so it was no surprise when Daryl happened to stroll by and see the treasure she was hording.

"Where did you get that!?" he asked while pointing to the several bottles of wine and other spirits that she lifted from behind the bar before all hell broke loose.

"From the bar, you backwoods hick" she said with a laugh.

Daryl scoffed at her before entering the tent to inspect the bottles further.

"God damn" he said, lifting a bottle of Southern Comfort. "How long were you planning on holding out on me?"

He began to unscrew the cap, but Caroline snatched it way.

"I'm not holding out. I plan on sharing, but I wanted to see just how much I had first."

"Seems like you have enough to inebriate an entire village. Let's throw us a party!"

Two hours later, most of the group (minus Carl, Carol and Hershel who were already sleeping) where sitting around the dining room table in the farm house passing the bottles around. Lori, being the only one not partaking due to her pregnancy (which everyone now knew about due to Shane's outburst the day before), sat at the end of the table sipping from the only bottle of Coke that Caroline had managed to snatch from the bar.

Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, laughing at high volumes while telling stories about their lives before the end of the world. Daryl sat in the corner of the dining room, whittling an arrow with the bottle of Southern Comfort between his legs. Every once in a while he'd glance up at Caroline, who was sitting at the opposite side of the table closet to him. Sometimes she'd catch is gaze and smile.

Eventually Maggie stood up, glass of red wine in hand, and declared, "I want to play truth or dare!"

Everyone abruptly fell silent, while staring at the drunken girl in front of them.

"Oh, why the hell not?" T-Dog said, from his perch across from Caroline.

Everyone burst out laughing again and the game began.

Daryl knew where this "game" of truth or dare would lead. He hadn't played it often, but every time he did, the dares were always "so and so has to kiss or make out with so and so", and this game was no exception. The truths were the same has he remembered, too.

"Caroline, truth or dare?" Andrea asked.

"Truth."

"What's your number?" Andrea asked while raising her eyebrows.

"What…my phone number?" Caroline asked, while looking up at the ceiling.

"She means how many people have you slept with, genius", Daryl said from his place in the corner, without looking up from his work in progress.

"Ummm…" Caroline mused, while swirling the wine in her glass. She then burst out in a fit of giggles.

Daryl glanced up again a second later to see her face laying on the cool surface of the table beside her right arm, which was still holding the wine glass. She removed her hand from the glass and held up two fingers in the air.

"Only two?" Shane asked with a chuckle.

Caroline lifted her face to look at him. "What's that supposed to mean…'only two'?"

"Well, pretty girl like you overseas for so long with all those soldiers. Figured it might be more than just two." Shane answered.

"Screw you", Caroline replied while pointing a slender finger at him across the table.

"Anytime, sweetheart", he said under his breath. "I'll be your number three."

Daryl, being the one sitting nearest Shane in the corner, heard the comment and glared at him. Shane pretended not to notice.

"Ok, Glenn. Truth or dare?" Caroline asked.

The game continued in this fashion for several more minutes before Caroline was asked again.

"Dare", she replied this time.

"Ok, I dare you to make out with…", Maggie started while looking around the room. Her eyes finally landed on Shane. "You have to make out with Shane, while sitting in his lap!" she exclaimed.

The whole room burst out into laughter as Caroline got up from her chair and stumbled over to Shane. Shane scooted his chair back from the table, nearly hitting Daryl's knees behind him, while spreading his legs and putting his arms in the air. "Come get some, sweetheart!"

Andrea and Daryl exchanged a glace.

Caroline sat in Shane's lap and put her hands on his broad shoulders. The two had never gotten along well in the past, but she was tipsy and ready to do anything after kissing most of the men in the room. She felt eyes on her and turned her head slightly to see Daryl in the corner staring daggers at her head. She glanced away quickly and then lowered her lips to Shane's. As Shane pushed his tongue in her mouth, she could hear everyone in the group cheering except for Daryl, who loudly got up to leave the room. Thirty seconds later, she broke the kiss and stumbled as she tried to stand. Shane attempted to steadied her by unceremoniously grabbing her ass with is left hand. Caroline roughly slapped his hand away and began leaving the room. "We need more wine", she said as she entered the kitchen.

She stood over the sink with her head down as it reeled from the kiss with Shane. It was obvious he didn't want to stop, but she couldn't say the same. She shivered and shook her arms in an attempt to get the feel of him off her body. She then decided she needed to use a bit of mouth wash to also get the taste of the whiskey he was drinking out of her mouth. She headed upstairs, but the hallway was blocked by Shane who had apparently guessed she would head up there to use the restroom.

She approached him and tried to squeeze by but he thrust his left hand across the way to block her. When she tried to turn around, he turned his body and put his right arm out, trapping her between himself and the wall.

"How about you and me finish our little encounter somewhere in private", he said in her ear, his voice husky and his breath reeking of whiskey.

"I don't think so" she replied, without looking at him.

"Give me one good reason why", he growled.

"You're drunk."

"So are you", he slurred.

"Not _that _drunk", she said, finally lifting her eyes to look at him.

"So, you're drunk enough that you can sit there all night making eyes and flirting with a redneck like Dixon, but you're not drunk enough to _fuck _me!?"

A second later they heard two pairs of footsteps running up the stairs as Daryl and Andrea entered the hallway.

"What's going on here?" Andrea asked with her brow drawn. Daryl took his place right beside Shane with a scowl on his face.

Ignoring Andrea, Shane began, "Oh Ok. I see how it is. Fine…just fucking fine." He stepped back, releasing Caroline from the prison of his arms and pushed past Daryl on his way down the stairs, Andrea following close behind.

"What the fuck?" Daryl asked as Caroline leaned against the wall rubbing her hands over her face.

"Forget it. We all know Shane's a hot head. He's just drunk and lonely."

"No, I will damn well not fucking forget it!" he said as he turned to go back down the stairs after Shane.

Caroline grabbed his wrist before he could get away. "Please", she said with pleading look in her blue-green eyes. "We're all finally cutting loose and having a good time before we have to decide if we're going to kill that poor boy in the barn. It didn't mean anything and I'm sure Shane will feel like the ass that he is in the morning. Besides, it's not like I couldn't have taken care of him myself if push came to shove."

Daryl scoffed as he yanked his wrist from her loose grip.

"Just go back downstairs. I'll be there soon" she said with a sigh before shutting the bathroom door.

Five minutes later Caroline emerged from the bathroom and made her way back downstairs. She expected both Daryl and Shane to be missing from the group when she returned and was surprised to see them both sitting in their original positions when the festivities began. She made her way back to her seat, avoiding eye contact with both of them. As she sat down, Andrea grabbed her hand under the table and gave it a small squeeze. They had been trying to repair their relationship ever since Andrea accidentally mistook Daryl as a walker and shot at him, grazing his left temple. Caroline appreciated the gesture and squeezed back before letting go.

"Where you been, girl?" Rick asked between sips of his Wild Turkey. "You missed some pretty risqué dares I'm sure you would have appreciated!"

She looked up at him and smiled. "Well, I'm here now. Let's get going!"

"It's my turn" Shane said as he forcefully put is glass on the table, making everyone focus their attention on him. Lori shook her head. After hearing from Andrea what had happened upstairs, she knew this wouldn't end well.

"Caroline. Truth or dare?" His eyes bore into her from across the table.

Caroline didn't want to say truth because she could only guess what the question would be and she was far too tipsy to handle that kind emotional warfare with any grace. She also refused to back down from the hot head across from her, so she squared her shoulders and said, "Dare".

There was no hesitation in his voice when he said, "I dare you to make out with Dixon." The room fell silent for a second before Shane spoke again.

"Frankly, I don't understand why this dare hasn't been inflicted on either of you already. It's obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain that you two have some kind of sick little crushes on each other. I guess everyone was just being polite, but uh eh, not anymore."

Caroline and Daryl made eye contact from across the room before Shane continued.

"And I don't want to see some peck on the lips. No, no…I want the real fucking deal, tongues and all."

The atmosphere of the room had changed. Everyone was silent and Caroline could hear her heart beating like a drum in her chest and wondered if anyone else could hear it, too.

"Come on!" Shane exclaimed when neither Caroline nor Daryl moved from their seats.

"Maybe we should all retire for the night", Dale spoke up, trying to be the voice of reason.

"No", Daryl said, as he stood from his chair. He took one last swig from the bottle of Southern Comfort he'd been nursing all night before sitting it down beside his chair and making his way to the middle of the room between the table and the doorway.

Caroline felt her heart beat faster and louder and her legs begin to shake as she put her elbows on the table and rested her head in the palms of her hands. She doubted very much she could actually stand, let alone walk over to where Daryl was waiting, where he was no doubt staring down at her. Andrea gave her right foot a soft kick under the table, bringing her back to reality. She lifted her head from her hands and smiled, trying to lighten the mood of the room once again. She knew she'd succeeded when Rick let out a soft chuckle, followed by Glenn.

Caroline carefully moved her chair away from the table and stood. "You need some help?" Glenn asked with a smile on his face. He started to stand, but Daryl put his hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down in his seat. She was going to come of her own free will, or she wouldn't come at all, Daryl concluded.

Finally she willed her feet to cooperate and she soon found herself standing in front of Daryl, looking slightly up into his face. Her heart was still pounding so hard she was scared she would pass out and her hands begin to shake as the adrenaline began to rush through her body in waves. The entire process of her lifting from her chair and walking to Daryl took mere seconds, but felt like hours. She looked into his clear blue eyes, holding her breath.

"This is your bet", Daryl said with a smirk on his lips. Her eyes were immediately drawn down to them as he spoke. "You gotta kiss me, remember?"

She couldn't recall a time when his southern drawl had sounded so sexy. She looked up to his eyes again, while grabbing the front of his button down flannel shirt and pressing her lips to his.

She felt him stiffen before he grabbed both of her forearms and pulled her flush against his body. She broke away for a split second so that she could open her mouth slightly before kissing him again. A second later, he did the same.

"Slip him the tongue!" Maggie cried. Lori slapped her on the arm and everyone laughed.

Caroline smiled against Daryl's lips before sliding her tongue over them, asking for entrance. When he complied, she broke her arms free of his grip and wrapped them around his neck with one hand fisted in his hair. He then wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her so close that she was leaning slightly back from the force of his grip. They continued to fiercely kiss, tongues sliding over each other, for a full 20 seconds for before Dale cried out, "Alright, alright! Get a room you two!"

Daryl abruptly broke the kiss and stepped out of her embrace. A moment later he was back in his chair, Southern Comfort in hand. Caroline turned to look at the group and made a small bow before everyone (except for Shane) erupted into loud cheering and laughing.

Caroline sat at her place and tried to concentrate on the rest of the game. Thankfully she wasn't asked again because she was sure there was no way she could come up with anything that resembled a complete sentence. She stole glances at Daryl every few minutes as he sat in his chair looking unbelievably sexy. Just then Daryl glanced and caught her eyes and she felt a wave of dizziness overtake her. She stood up quickly, hands gripping the table and said she needed some fresh air before practically running out the front door of the farm house.

When the cool autumn air hit her face, she sighed and walked over to the porch steps where she proceeded to sit down with as much grace as she could muster. She stretched her arms behind her and placed the palms of her hands on the smooth wood of the porch while leaning back, staring at the night sky. The memory of the kiss played over and over in her mind until she bent over resting her elbows on her knees and put her face in her palms.

"Holy shit", she whispered to herself, shaking her head.

She'd never experience anything like that…so much passion in a simple kiss. Her mind started to wonder what other things he could do passionately before she shook her head to rid it of the traitorous thoughts. Just then the screen door squeaked and slammed closed behind her and she jerked upright, hoping it wasn't Daryl.

"Relax, it's just me", Rick said from behind her.

She sighed and turned around to look at him.

"What some company? It's getting a little too rowdy in there and I'm a little too drunk."

"Sure", she answered patting the spot next her with the palm of her hand.

Rick flopped down with a groan and Caroline giggled.

"So…you and Daryl, huh? I have to say, I'm not the least bit surprised."

"Shut up", she said while bumping him in the shoulder with hers. She gasped and reached out steadying him when he nearly fell over.

"Whoa…" he started has she pulled him back.

"Jesus Christ", she laughed as the former sheriff looked at her with blood shot eyes. "You need to get to bed."

Just then the screen door squeaked and slammed again, harder this time. She tuned as Daryl exited the house and proceeded to throw himself over the rail of the porch. Caroline thought he would break his neck, but he landed on his feet and turned to look at the both of them.

Rick started slowly started clapping his hands and laughing.

"Good night ladies and gents. This party is officially over for me.", Daryl said as he stumbled towards his tent without looking back.

Caroline knew she'd have to deal with the backlash of that kiss in the morning, but just for tonight she was going to enjoy it.

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_Thanks for reading!_

_**~MLM**_


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to everyone who reviewed these short stories or made them a part of your favorites list.

I have decided to continue the story and begin posting from the beginning. You can find it by clicking on my user name and selecting the story called:

**She's Pretty Much Dead Already**

A few things have changed from my original concept. My original character will now be joining the group of survivors from the very beginning. This seemed necessary if there is to be any kind of relationship between my original character and Daryl, as it seems more realistic that Daryl would take much more time to develop any kind of relationship with anyone…let alone a romantic one with a woman.

Caroline will now be known as Sarah.

The timeline will be played with a bit. Instead of things happening very quickly over weeks, they will take place over a period of months so that each character can develop more thoroughly.

I hope you enjoy it.


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